Deed of Trust activity had an increase of 37% from February’s 2023’s level.
Wake County Register of Deeds Tammy L. Brunner
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tammy Brunner tammy.brunner@wake.gov
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Raleigh, NC – Wake County’s very high-value segment (real estate sales transactions worth $30 million and above) had zero transactions in the month of March, the last time there were zero high-value segment transactions was in April and May of 2020, the first two months following the pandemic lockdown. This is a $165 million decrease from February’s 2023’s very-high value market amount.
The High-value segment, (transactions worth between $1 million to $30 million), stood at 143 transactions totaling $295 million, an increase of $37 million, or a 14% increase from February 2023.
Transactions in the Core Market (property valued at $1 million or less) saw 2145 transactions (564 more than February 2023) totaling just over $960 million, up 40% from February.
Total sales value from all three segments equaled over $1.2 billion for March 2023, up 13% from February’s total sales of over $1.1 billion. 2293 transactions occurred in March 2023 which is an increase in the number of transactions compared to February’s total sales of 1689.
Median sales prices
The median sales price of a parcel of Wake County real estate for March 2023 was $445,000, up $10,000 from February’s 2023 price of $435,000.
Changes in median sales prices tend to be caused by activity in the core market. The occurrence or non-occurrence of large transactions has virtually no impact on the calculation of median values because there are so few of those transactions. 94% March’s transactions occurred in the core market.
Lending saw an increase in March 2023
Real estate lending activity in March increased by 37% from February’s level and compared to March 2022, it was down 39% There were 3307 deed of trust transactions in March, where February 2023’s deed of trust transactions showed 2415 – an increase of 892 transactions.
Real estate lending activity has two primary components.
- The first is lending that coincides with a transfer of ownership of real estate. This is seen in the typical residential home sale where simultaneously a seller’s loan is paid off and a buyer takes out a new loan as ownership is transferred by deed.
- The second is where a new loan secured by real estate is taken out, but there is not a change in ownership of the underlying property. This is the situation in the typical mortgage refinancing or second mortgage transaction.
The relative strength of the second type of lending activity can be quantified by comparing the ratio of deeds of trust to deeds in a period. Relatively more deeds of trust signify an increasing refinance of mortgage loans.
March saw the gap between deeds of trust and deeds volume continue to narrow. Indicating the refinancing market continues to slow down.
Long-Term Trends in Real Estate Activity
Aggregate value of real estate transactions
The following chart shows the aggregate dollar value of real estate transfers in Wake County linearly (month by month) from January 2021 through year-to-date 2023. Because real estate transactions tend to be seasonal, this information should be evaluated in conjunction with the year-over-year comparison as shown in the preceding chart.
Aggregate value of real estate transactions - linear
The following chart shows the aggregate dollar value of real estate transfers in Wake County linearly (month by month) from January 2021 through year-to-date 2023. Because real estate transactions tend to be seasonal, this information should be evaluated in conjunction with the year-over-year comparison as shown in the preceding chart.
Deed volume
The following chart shows the number of deeds recorded in Wake County for each month from January 2021 through year-to-date 2023. Numbers of deeds recorded reflect the velocity of real estate activity without regard to the dollar value of a transaction.
Real estate lending
This chart shows the number of deeds of trust recorded in Wake County for each month from January 2021 through year-to-date 2023. A deed of trust is the legal instrument used in North Carolina to secure a loan with real estate used as collateral.
Methodology and Additional Information
The statistics in this report are derived from instruments recorded in the office of the Wake County Register of Deeds. Under North Carolina law, changes in property rights in real estate, including security interests in real estate, are recorded with the Register of Deeds of the county where the real estate is located.
The value of real estate transferred is measured by excise tax assessed on the consideration in a real estate transaction. Excise taxes are calculated as $1 in tax for every five hundred dollars of consideration. About 99% of these transactions were property transfers by deed and the balance were miscellaneous transactions such as acquisitions of a right of way. The calculation of the aggregate value of real estate includes all transactions. The calculation of the median price includes all transactions where the property containing excise tax was transferred by deed.
The number of deeds and deeds of trust recorded with the Register of Deeds reflects the total volume of property and loan transactions regardless of the dollar value of the real estate or the amount of the loan. The number of deeds includes transfers where monetary consideration did not change hands, such as transfers within a family. In March 2023, 24% of deeds attracted no excise tax. In 2021, that percentage was 25% in the first quarter, 20% in the second quarter, 21% for the third quarter, and 23% for the fourth quarter.
For a complete picture of Wake County real estate activity, the information in this report should be considered in conjunction with data available from other sources, such as rezoning applications and new building permits, plus other information published by the Register of Deeds available at https://www.wakegov.com/news?department=29
Contact: Tammy Brunner, Register of Deeds
O. 919-856-5460
tammy.brunner@wake.gov
This report was initially released on April 4, 2023.
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